DC Wire

D.C. Wire is changing

Washington Post staff — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:51:00 GMT

D.C. Wire stories are moving to a new format and a new page. Go to washingtonpost.com/dc-politics for the latest news about politics and government in the District. You’ll also find Mike DeBonis’s blog District of DeBonis on the new page.

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Jim Graham ‘reluctant to walk away’

Tim Craig — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:37:00 GMT

D.C. Council member Jim Graham hinted Thursday that he’s likely to seek reelection next year, even though he may be reprimanded next week for violating city ethics standards.

“I’m always very reluctant to walk away,” Graham said. “And I think if the election were held today in Ward 1, I would win, against any field.”

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Gray orders license plate change: ‘District of Columbia’ instead of ‘Washington D.C.’

Tim Craig — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:33:00 GMT

The D.C. government is taking another major step toward the city becoming known solely by its legal, historical name, the “District of Columbia.”

On Friday, Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) published a new mayoral order changing the city’s license plates from “Washington D.C.” to the “District of Columbia.” The name change means the city’s “taxation without representation” license plates will be redesigned.

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Gray to help kick off Nationals spring training

Tim Craig — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:43:00 GMT

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray will travel to Florida this weekend to help the Washington Nationals kick off spring training.

Gray (D), a baseball enthusiast who plays in a recreational softball league, will throw out the first pitch for Sunday’s game against the Florida Marlins.

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Mara gets boost from former GOP congress members

Tim Craig — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:14:59 GMT

Republican Patrick Mara is trying to boost fundraising for his D.C. Council campaign, including holding an event next week featuring former GOP congress members Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri and Tom Davis of Virginia.

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Drivers in D.C.: Watch the bikes or face points on your record

Tim Craig — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:01:17 GMT

Two D.C. Council members proposed legislation Tuesday to assess points on a motorist’s driving record for bicycle-related traffic infractions while also making it easier for bicyclists to move through intersections.

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D.C. bill would ease sex-change legalities

Tim Craig — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:46:00 GMT

It may soon become easier for transgender District residents to legally become a man or a woman.

Under a bill introduced Tuesday by council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), a resident will be able to legally change their sex on their birth certificate with a signed affidavit from a doctor indicating that that person now wants to be identified as a man or a woman.

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Gray ponders proposal to raise D.C. minimum wage

Tim Craig — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:27:00 GMT

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Wednesday that he might ask the D.C. Council to raise the city’s minimum wage, even if President Obama is unsuccessful in getting Congress to boost the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.

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Norton ‘very disappointed’ by omission of D.C. issues from State of the Union

Ben Pershing — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 04:53:24 GMT

Democrats were mostly pleased with what President Obama included in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, but at least one local leader took notice of what he left out of the speech.

Despite the best efforts of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and other District officials, Obama made no mention of D.C. in his address, omitting any call for voting rights or budget autonomy for the city.

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Jim Graham: ‘I am not resigning’

Tim Craig — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:39:00 GMT

“I am not resigning,” D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) said in a statement Friday afternoon.

On Thursday, the new D.C. government ethics board rebuked Graham after it concluded that there was “substantial evidence” that he improperly intervened in a contract dispute. But the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability said it could not sanction Graham because his alleged misdeed was conducted before the board was created.

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Matthew Frumin has big fundraising lead in race for at-large seat

Tim Craig — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:55:00 GMT

Attorney Matthew Frumin walloped seven other candidates in the opening chase for campaign funds for the April 23 special election for an at-large seat on the D.C. Council.

Frumin, a Ward 3 advisory neighborhood commissioner and former Clinton administration official, reported Thursday night that he has raised $82,000 for his campaign.

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D.C. mayor stumped over Ravens, 49ers Super Bowl

Tim Craig — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:10:00 GMT

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray is steering clear of the debate about whether its appropriate for Washington Redskins fans in the District to root for the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

In an interview Tuesday, Gray said it’s up to “people to make their own decision” about which team they will be cheering for.

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Gray lauds LaHood’s tenure as transportation chief

Tim Craig — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:33:19 GMT

Ray LaHood’s announcement Tuesday that he’s stepping down as U.S. secretary of transportation is a blow to the District, Mayor Vincent C. Gray said.

Gray (D) said Tuesday that LaHood has been an invaluable partner in city leaders’ efforts to invest in more bicycle lanes, push forward plans for a streetcar network and secure more funding to repair city bridges.

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D.C. statehood bill introduced in the Senate

Ben Pershing — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:56:54 GMT

A quartet of senators introduced a bill Thursday to grant the District full statehood, a measure that has faint prospects of passage in the near term but will at least ensure the issue remains alive on both sides of the Capitol.

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Settles campaign for D.C. Council takes shape

Tim Craig — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:17:00 GMT

John Settles, a Logan Circle mortgage broker, will kick off his campaign for the D.C. Council on Wednesday with an event hosted by friends, including several who have past ties to former mayors Adrian M. Fenty or Anthony Williams.

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Eight candidates remain in D.C. Council race

Tim Craig — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 23:10:00 GMT

Eight D.C. Council candidates met Wednesday’s deadline to attempt to qualify for the citywide at-large race in April, including former council member Michael A. Brown and interim member Anita Bonds.

Though 20 candidates had initially expressed interest in competing in the special election, they had until 5 p.m. Wednesday to submit 3,000 signatures from registered voters to the D.C. Board of Elections.

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Issa wary of D.C. budget referendum, still plans to move ahead with legislation

Ben Pershing — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:00:55 GMT

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa reiterated Wednesday his concerns over the District’s plan to put a budget autonomy referendum on the April ballot, but made clear it would not derail his own effort to move the issue on Capitol Hill.

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Under Catania bill, parents could be charged if teen child misses too many school days

Tim Craig — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:37:20 GMT

D.C. Council member David A. Catania proposed legislation Tuesday that would change standards for when parents can be held criminally liable if their children miss too many school days.

Under the proposal, the Office of the Attorney General would be required to prosecute parents if their child has 20 or more unexcused absences in a year. Four of 13 council members have co-sponsored the plan.

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Mayor Gray seeks bigger role in gun debate

Tim Craig — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:07:00 GMT

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Thursday that the Newtown, Conn., school massacre has been a “real affirmation” of the District’s strict gun control laws, and he doubts a gunman could successfully accomplish a similar killing spree in the city.

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Mendelson now backs Gray’s plan for more police

Tim Craig — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:29:35 GMT

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has decided to back Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s plan to hire additional city police officers, many of whom could be dispatched to city nightlife corridors.

In an interview Thursday, Mendelson (D) said he agreed to drop his earlier reluctance to the plan after meeting last week with Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier.

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D.C. ethics board looking into Orange’s role in market’s reopening

Tim Craig — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:46:00 GMT

(Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Sam Wang Produce.)

The District’s ethics board is launching a preliminary inquiry into D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange’s visit to a city produce market that health inspectors were attempting to close, according to sources familiar with the matter.

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D.C. government spends $342,000 on inaugural parade review stand

Tim Craig — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:09:00 GMT

The District government spent $342,000 to build the enclosed, heated, reviewing stand city leaders and their guests will use to watch the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.

The traditional reviewing stand on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building — which costs more than some city houses — includes two flat-screen televisions, carpeting and space for as many as 151 guests at a time.

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A.J. Cooper drops council bid, endorses Silverman

Tim Craig — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:18:00 GMT

Democrat A.J. Cooper dropped out of the special election for a D.C. Council seat Wednesday and endorsed fellow Democrat Elissa Silverman.

With more than a dozen Democrats in the race, Cooper said he decided to abandon to bid to try to prevent Republican Patrick Mara from taking advantage of a split Democratic vote in the April 23 election.

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Republican Mara ready for council race

Tim Craig — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Ward 1 school board member Patrick Mara said Tuesday he submitted 4,360 signatures to qualify for the April 23 special election for an at-large seat on the D.C. Council.

Mara, the only Republican in a citywide race that could include more than a dozen Democrats, said his success at gathering signatures demonstrates “the response and enthusiasm” he is seeing across the city.

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Eleanor Holmes Norton again offers bill to make D.C. the 51st state

Ben Pershing — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:21:00 GMT

This item has been updated.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) took her latest stab at making the District into the nation’s 51st state Tuesday, reintroducing the New Columbia Admission Act.

Offering the measure has become a tradition for Norton, who submitted the bill in the last Congress and when she was sworn in as the District’s lone delegate two decades ago. The bill would formally create the state of New Columbia, with two senators and one House member (at least until the District’s population grows enough to merit two members). The state would not have control over federal buildings and territory within its borders

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